Church and Monastery of St Anthony of Padua in Zakopane

The Church of St Anthony at Bystre is a small church at the foot of Nosal in Zakopane. It is run by the Bernardines, and since 2020 it has served as the sanctuary of St Anthony of Padua.

Where the church came from

The idea of acquiring a holiday house in Zakopane appeared in 1893. In 1902 a wooden villa at Bystre was bought, with a semi-public chapel dedicated to St Anthony. The Bishop of Kraków, Jan Puzyna, did not agree to the building of a church or monastery, so for years only a chapel operated here. Few convalescents were received, and in winter the villa stood empty.

The monastery and the parish

In 1939 the house was given permanent residents, and in 1958 the friars obtained the official erection of the monastery. After the Second World War a large new chapel was built on the site of the old one, and the house was rebuilt and enlarged. In 1976 Cardinal Karol Wojtyła entrusted the Bernardines with parish care of Bystre, Koziniec and Pardałówka.

Practical information

• Location: Bystre, at the foot of Nosal, about 0.5 km from the Nature Education Centre of the Tatra National Park.
• Check service and visiting times with the parish before your visit; they were not found in the sources.